Audiobook review:
Very dark mystery/romance. The story has multiple POVs so it took a little while to get the hang of things.

This book is a mix of mystery and dark romance, leaning heavily on the dark romance side.

Over all a good story, but I felt the final part was a bit rushed. I think I was expecting a little more of the mystery side. That ending though, ooof. No one saw that coming, I’m sure.

Arc review - Audiobook
This book.....devastating!!
Sadness followed me throughout the book and I was so sad and angry with the ending ....so anxiously waiting for book 2!!! Romeo and juliet with a 90's background !!!!
I was feeling like I was reading a true crime love story , so much pain and I loved every second of the audiobook !!!
Just finished and I wanna go back , I already miss Shane and Laney 💔🖤


And can we please talk for the amazing voice of Jessie Elwyn ?!!! 😲😍

Loooovveeedd!! If you’re looking for a heart wrenching, dark family centered story with a twist of forbidden love, you’ve come to the right place. I couldn’t help but feel for Laney and Dustin whose lives were made so hard by a drug dealing, feared by everyone brother and a mother who is just looking for her next escape. My heart went out to Shane and the way the novel ended was just jaw dropping. Well done!!

First I’d like to say thank you to victory editing and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook for my honest opinion.
All I can say is WOW! This book was such an emotional roller coaster but in the best way possible. I listened to this in one sitting because I could not get enough. I never found my mind wandering during this at all! It was so gripping from start to finish. The story is beautiful yet devastating and absolutely breathtaking. Following all of the characters individual stories and then listening to them all coexist was fascinating. This book has so much suspense and keeps you guessing the entire time. I need a book two right now! I need to find out what happened to Lainey and Shane. I need to know how Dustin is doing in the art world! This was such a wonderful read and I cannot recommend it enough!

I went in to this book thinking it was going to be more of a thriller and didn't realize that the story was more about the relationship between the characters and less about who died. Although, I was surprised how the murder did end up shaking down, so I guess that's good! Looking back I think I liked the story as a whole more than I enjoyed it while I was actually listening to it. I got an ARC audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for this review.

The audiobook narrator was fantastic! I’ve previously read this book, but was excited to hear it brought to life in audio ❤️

This was a very interesting book that kept me guessing until the very end. I did not see that last twist coming. I really liked the multi-POV throughout the entire book.

I did enjoy the narration but wish it would have been either a multicast narration or dual.

This book pulls you in right from the start! From being set in the 90s, to the drugs, sex, parties, murder and a love story!

Laney takes care of her little brother, Dustin since their mother and older violent brother Cary is always in and out of their lives. Dustin had been providing food certain days out back at his place of work for a homeless guy named Shane. One night when Dustin could not make it to bring food he sent his sister Laney. When Laney meets Shane she unfortunately discovers her soulmate….at fourteen! Laney brings Shane home with her providing him with a place to stay and food. Now all of the sudden Shane is being tested in every area possible, will he make it through.. will their love make it through?

All the characters were greatly written and they were easy to understand since we were given the pov from each character. I think love in this book was big starting with love from a partner, love between siblings and love from the world just overall being accepted. We are given pieces of this murder mystery from the beginning and throughout with inserts of interviews and articles. I think this made this book unique, I haven’t read any other book that has that! While listening through trying to figure out who was murdered and who all were involved, when the end came I was shocked! One minute you think you know and the next you’re completely wrong! I cannot wait for the next book and I can’t wait to get my hands on a print!

Thank you NetGalley, A.Atkins, and Victory Editing for the arc of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Firstly, it’s categorised as Mystery & Thrillers / Romance, if I had known it was a Romance (with no Mystery & Thriller) I wouldn’t have gone for it.

It’s white tr*sh, teenagers, sex and drugs, dysfunctional families and the threat of violence. The ‘will they / won’t they?’ between Laney and Shane (fifteen and seventeen respectively) is the biggest part of the story, maybe fine for this kind of Romance, I wouldn’t know as I don’t read Romance.

I’m not the target audience, but it’s hard not to compare it to All The Ugly And Wondeful Things, a much lower impact, safer almost YA version. I don’t think it’s especially edgy to refer to a fifteen year old girl as a ‘b*tch in heat’ and in this book that phrase got a bit repetitive.

The audiobook narration was pretty good though.

Thanks to Netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op

DNF at 12%

I can't move past the ages of this 'romance'
It's between a 14 year old girl and 17 year old boy and it's hyper sexualised. As a 31 year old woman myself I don't want to read this. I'm uncomfortable and disturbed in all the ways I don't like a book to make me.

4 ⭐ 2 🌶 4 🎧

That was a really unique and interesting dark romance. This is a forbidden love story that starts between a 14yr old and a 17yr old and ends about 4 years later, we do get spice while she's a minor which I'm a little torn over... While I wish it had been left undescriptive, I loved the storyline and how this book played out enough to not care too much.

This is pretty dark. Lots of drugs, physical abuse and SA, lots of uncomfortable feelings and inappropriate situations... But Laney is a young girl thrust into adulthood at too young of an age. Her mom is absolute trash and her brother is creepy as heck, both of which bring not okay situations home... Shane is her safe space and he treats her and Dustin so well. He attempts to stay away, but just can't.

The end was so sad and left us on quite the cliffhanger. While it didn't end quite as tragically as I was expecting, it was really sad and heartbreaking on so many fronts. I'm really looking forward to the next book and seeing how Shane and Laney's story continues.

The audio was great. The narrator did a wonderful job, however I did wish we got a male narrator as well. There are a ton of POVs in this story and it would have helped distinguish them all.

If I could give an example of my favorite kind of story, this would be it, aside from the ending.

I was sucked into this audio from the first chapter. The writing and narration were both incredible. I finish the audio in less than 24 hours. I could not stop listening.

I love how we got a point of view from all of the character. All of the characters were written perfectly. There isn't a single thing I would change about any of the characters.

I wanted to smack Shane more than once a long the way but I still loved everything about his character. He was super stubborn that's for sure. The love between him and Laney was absolutely amazing. You could feel it from the first second. They are literal soul mates. They need each other to be the best that they can be.

I was definitely shocked at the murder part of the story. I can not believe that Cary did what he did for Laney. I hated him through out the entire story until that point.

NOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW let's talk about the only thing I did not like.......... THE ENDING!!!!!! Come on Alex!!!! JK it just makes me want the next one even more!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Victor Editting for a copy of this audiobook (:

I requested this audiobook through Netgalley! Thank you for allowing me to read and review!

This is a story about Laney and Shane (our main characters) who are 14 and 17 when they meet. (16 and 18 for the majority of the story)
It’s a hard story of their 2 lives that have not been easy and they find refuge in each other. They know they can’t be together, not to mention her older brother Cary is a very dangerous person so there is a lot of back and forth tension between them.
We figure out fast that Laney had to grow up well before she should’ve had to, and this is part of who her character was made out to be. Having said that, I was a a bit uncomfortable with some of the detailed scenes between Shane and Laney being that the FMC was 16 for most of the book.
But I was really impressed with the authors writing and how we got a well rounded story from multiple points of view. The author went through some difficult topics, and that’s not an easy thing to do.
The mystery aspect of the book was interesting too. From the first page you know a murder takes place and throughout the book you have no idea who it involves, so as you get closer to it, you are trying to guess and I loved that.
The ending was definitely unexpected.
Altogether this was written very well and I enjoyed listening to the audiobook. It was narrated beautifully! I also liked the newspaper articles and interviews here and there. It really gave the book a unique take while listening.

This was hard to read as someone who grew up in this kind of dysfunction. I was just really worried about that child but I also wanted her to have agency. It was a very uncomfortable listen.
But I kept listening. I loved the narration.

Dark, emotional, and potentially triggering. This book pulls you in with its emotional depth and the complex characters. To be honest, I struggled with the age of the FMC and the sexuality that surrounded her and her relationship(s). I do understand that was the point of the book, but for me that was a difficult thing to get past, and ultimately it kept me from fully connecting. The deep seeded issues of each family member, and darkness that was the life they had no choice but to live, was sad and eye opening. Mental illness, drug abuse, sexual assault, and violence were all subjects of this book so please be advised. I think there are things in the book that I thought were done well. The yearning for true love and connection, the youngest sibling needing someone to support and believe in him as he looks for his place in the world, both offering tender moments and glimpses of what could be.

I am interested to see where the next book leads their story. It ends on a cliff hanger, which I generally am not a fan of, but there is promise - yet so much history that could lead to a very interesting sequel. I think there is a good possibility that I would enjoy the next book even more considering that the characters will be older and I may find them more relatable.

I would like to thank NetGalley, A. Atkins, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Wow. That was heavy. In a good way. It's a lot of tugging back and forth on the romance side and it reminded me a bit of A Love Letter to Whiskey - where the timing is never quite right or someone comes between the characters. It slowed down a lot in the middle but both the beginning 25% and the last 20% or so were really intense.

For a lot of people the age may be an issue but it works really well for me. I think teenagers and young adults have very valid feelings and intense relationships and they both acted way older than their ages.

I really like books with heavy themes and trauma so this was right up my alley. Are you f-ing kidding me with that ending though?!? I sat down on my floor for the last 5 minutes and didn't get up for another 10.

The narration was very good. She had a somber tone and I really liked her male voice. I listened around 1.75x

I definitely want to read more by this author

Book blew me away. It’s hard to get attached to characters in books for me. It’s easier in film. This had me so attached to these people and their story. This book made you feel weird at times. Made you question certain relationships. It’s a thrilling coming of age romance novel. I usually stick with psychological thrillers but this kept my interest the entire time. It left me wanting more. I don’t want this to be the end of the story. Hope we get a sequel.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley on the advanced copy of this Audiobook. This was fantastic.

3.75⭐️

I had the audiobook read by Jessie Elwyn who is great.

An angst ridden forbidden romance told over 3 years set during the 90’s. Our main characters Laney and Shane, both have difficulties in their lives, in the mix is Dustin, Laney’s ten year old brother who has additional needs.

The story is told from multiple POV, and even formats which I’m not usually a fan of, but it works well to show different aspects of our main characters.

I absolutely loved Shane, Laney and Dustin. The tension between our main characters is tangible, the will they won’t they keeping you keeping you turning the pages.

Now to the elephant in the room the age gap, Laney is 14, Shane 17 at the start, which for me totally stops this from being sleazy. However it’s also its biggest implausibility what 17 year old has that level of restraint, let alone the sexual expertise referred to.

Yes you feel the intensity of their passion, and the frustration of being right connection wrong timing. There’s sexual activity description during the book, so it might not be for everyone.

So overall I enjoyed it, but kept niggling in the back of my head. The ending however I was disappointed in. I didn’t like the format used it felt far too rushed, and the thought processes were at odds with previous ones as though the author suddenly decided to drag this story out to another book.
Up until the ending it was a solid 4, with the ending it’s dropped to 3.75.

I don’t really know what to say except I loved every tense angsty minute of this book except [redacted]. When I say I want a book to devour and destroy me this is what I mean. I just wish it had the decency to [redacted]. How unfortunate that this is the authors debut novel. I’d give it all up to read more especially when the male main character [redacted]!!!!!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.


2 stars. Dnf at 40% but I did listen to the last two chapters. I understand that my review doesn’t include the entire book

I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and I did like some of the characters. I felt the book was well written. I just couldn’t get over the age difference between the two main characters and how basically very single adult male looked at 14 year old Laney and wanted to f$ck her. Even the one adult who looked out for Laney and Dustin made a comment to Shane that she is basically an adult and it’s ok for the adult to sexualize her.